Minnesota exports reach record high of US$20.3 billion in 2011

• The state’s exports increased US$1.4 billion (or 7.3 percent) between 2010 and 2011, continuing their recovery from the economic downturn.
• The US$20.3 billion threshold is a record for Minnesota exports of goods, exceeding the previous record of US$19.2 billion in 2008.
• Minnesota moved up to 19th in exports among all states, as Kentucky dropped to 20th place.

• U.S. exports increased 15.8 percent. The two largest state exporters, Texas and California, had the largest gains in value among all states.

Most of Minnesota’s major industries increased exports between 2010 and 2011.
• Leading exporting industries were machinery (US$4 billion, up 1 percent), optics and medical instruments (US$2.8 billion, down 2 percent) and electrical machinery (US$2.7 billion, up 13 percent).

Exports increased by 10 percent or more to eight of the state’s 20 largest country markets in 2011.
• Minnesota’s top five export markets were Canada (US$5.8 billion), China (US$2.3 billion), Japan (US$1.3 billion), Mexico (US$1.2 billion) and Germany (US$734 million).

About 8,280 businesses throughout Minnesota exported goods and services in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, an increase of more than 500 exporters since 2009. These exporters have an important impact on our economy, and their success on a global scale can mean new jobs in the state.

Exports are critical to the state economy.
• Manufactured exports are responsible for an estimated 114,900 jobs in Minnesota, ranking 15th largest among all states, according to the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce (based on 2009 data). About 57,100 of these export-related jobs are in manufacturing, while another 57,800 export-related jobs are in other industries such as marketing and sales, transportation, and logistics – key sectors in delivering goods to export markets.

The following sections provide more details on exports by industry, country markets and products.

Regional Export Markets

• Minnesota’s three main regional markets in 2011 were North America, Asia and the European Union.
• Compared with U.S. exporters, Minnesota exporters sell a greater share of goods to Asia (34 percent vs. 26 percent) but a smaller share to Central and South America (4 percent vs. 11 percent).

North America:
• Minnesota’s largest regional market was valued at US$7 billion in exports and accounted for 35 percent of state exports.
• The state’s exports to North America were up 10 percent between 2010 and 2011, compared with U.S. growth to this region of 16 percent.
• Largest gains: Canada (up US$397 million to US$5.8 billion), Mexico (up US$238 million to US$1.2 billion).

Asia:
• Minnesota exports were valued at US$6.9 billion and accounted for 34 percent of state exports.
• The state’s exports to Asia were up 11 percent between 2010 and 2011, slightly less than U.S. growth of 13 percent.
• Major markets: China, Japan, Korea, Singapore.
• Largest gains: China (up US$360 million to US$2.3 billion), Japan (up US$170 million to US$1.3 billion), South Korea (up US$73 million to US$702 million).

European Union (EU):
• Minnesota exports were valued at US$4 billion and accounted for 20 percent of state exports.
• The state’s exports to the EU were down 2 percent between 2010 and 2011, which is partly due to weak exports to Ireland and the Netherlands. U.S. export growth to the EU was 12 percent.
• Major markets: Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands.
• Largest gains: Austria (up US$38 million to US$91 million), Italy (up US$37 million to US$268 million), Belgium (up US$32 million to US$623 million).
• Largest declines: Ireland (down US$99 million to US$334 million), the Netherlands (down US$60 million to US$393 million).

Central and South America:
• Minnesota exports were valued at US$892 million and accounted for 4 percent of state exports.
• The state’s exports to this region were up 3 percent between 2010 and 2011, less than the U.S. increase of 21 percent.
• Major markets: Brazil (US$309 million, up 9 percent), Argentina (US$89 million, up 28 percent), Chile (US$85 million, down 32 percent).

Top Country Markets
Minnesota increased exports to 15 of the state’s top 25 markets between 2010 and 2011.
• Few major changes in rank among top 25 markets. Largest changes: Finland (up to 24th from 28th), Australia (up to 12th from 14th), United Arab Emirates (up to 23rd from 25th).
• Minnesota accounts for relatively large shares of U.S. exports to the Philippines (6.8 percent), Ireland (4.4 percent), Finland (3.7 percent), Thailand (2.9 percent) and Sweden (2.8 percent), compared with the state’s overall share of U.S. exports (1.4 percent).

Fastest-Growing Markets
Minnesota’s 10 fastest-growing country markets by growth rate (among those with at least US$50 million in exports) were located in a variety of regions.
• Austria (26) jumped from 40th in 2010, based on particularly strong demand for vehicles (up 80 percent to US$34 million) and optics/medical instruments (up 181 percent to US$21 million).

Export Logistics
Exports are shipped via multiple transport modes. Exports leave the country by air, ship or other modes, which includes road, rail and pipeline.

Air shipments were valued at US$7.6 billion. The main industries shipped by air – together accounting for 78 percent of air shipments – were optics, medical instruments (US$2.4 billion), electrical machinery (US$2 billion) and machinery (US$1.6 billion).

Shipments sent via other (land-based) modes were valued at US$7.4 billion. Vehicles (US$1.4 billion), machinery (US$1.2 billion) and electrical machinery (US$470 million) were leading products sent by land. Some food products such as beverages, fats and oils, baking goods and food waste are primarily shipped by these other modes.

Peer Performance
In 2011, Minnesota ranked 19th among all states, up one spot compared with 2010.

The top 10 states strongly contributed to the national increase in exports of 16 percent (or US$202 billion), gaining a combined US$138 billion in exports between 2010 and 2011. The top two states, Texas (up US$43 billion) and California (up US$16 billion), had the largest gains among all states.

During this period, annual exports fell only from Washington, D.C., (down 30 percent to US$1 billion) and New Hampshire (down 2 percent to US$4.3 billion).

*For bulky agricultural commodities in particular, this data source may attribute exports to the U.S. port of exit, which often may be in a different state than the state of production. For these two products, Louisiana is ranked first. Using different methodology, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ranked Minnesota as the third-largest exporter of soybeans and related products and the sixth-largest exporter of wheat and related products, among all states in fiscal 2010.

Fastest-Growing Export Products
Among four-digit products with exports of at least US$100 million, state export growth rates were highest between 2010 and 2011 for crude oil, pork, corn and other pharmaceutical products.

The Big Picture in Minnesota Exports
Minnesota’s exports from manufacturing, services and agricultural industries are estimated at US$31.2 billion (preliminary) for 2011.
• Manufactured exports (US$18.4 billion) accounted for 59 percent of the state’s total exports.
• Based on the Harmonized export data series in this report, non-manufactured goods (agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.) accounted for about US$1.9 billion in exports. (See below for another source of agricultural export estimates.)
• Exports of services cover transportation-related services, royalties and licenses, and other private services. No official comprehensive state-level export data for services are available. DEED estimated Minnesota exports of services at US$10.9 billion in 2011.

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